Hera
' Hera ' ("Lady of the House") is the Greek goddess of air, familial love, heaven, marriage, commitment, motherhood, and women. She is the elder sister and wife of Zeus, therefore making her Queen of the Gods. She is one of the daughters of Rhea and Kronos. Her Roman counterpart is Juno. Childhood and Marriage to Zeus Hera spent her childhood in her Titan father Kronos' stomach after she was born by Rhea, her Titan mother. Zeus, the youngest child, rescued her and her siblings by making Kronos throw up, and after the First Titan War (also known as the First Titanomachy) ended, she married him and became the Queen of the Gods. After accepting Zeus, Gaea gave Hera the golden apples of immortality as a wedding gift, which she placed in her garden at the western edge of the world. Hera employed the Hesperides, daughters of Atlas, to guard the tree, but as the nymphs would occasionally pluck an apple from the tree themselves, she also put a one hundred headed dragon named Ladon there as well. This orchard was later named The Garden of the Hesperides. Over time, Zeus was very unfaithful to her, and had many children with mortal women such as Hercules. This, understandably, frustrated Hera to no end, and she devoted most of her time to keeping Zeus in sight, as well as making the lives of the mistresses and illegitimate children miserable. Hercules Her hatred is most evident in the story of Heracles, whom she tried to kill repetitively. When Hercules was still a baby, Hera put two snakes in his crib and hoped to kill him but failes as Hercules had immense power and strangle the snakes with his bare hands. Even so, Hercules later ended up as her son-in-law by her daughter Hebe. Hephaestus Hera gave birth to Hephaestus, god of fire and the forge, but when she saw his unsightly appearance, threw him from Olympus, crippling him forever. This act of cruelty haunted Hephaestus, and was a factor in his bitterness with life and the fact that he preferred to work away from his family in his many forges in active volcanoes. Other versions of the story say that Zeus was the one who cast him off Olympus, but Hephaestus himself seems to believe that Hera only blames him to "make her seem more likable." Later in life, Hephaestus gained revenge against Hera for rejecting him by making her a magical throne which, when she sat on it, did not allow her to leave. The other gods begged Hephaestus to return to Olympus to let her go, but he repeatedly refused their pleas until Dionysus the god of wine and another son of Zeus, got him drunk and took him back to Olympus on the back of a mule. Hephaestus released Hera after being given Aphrodite, goddess of love, as his wife. Troy When Eris, goddess of strife, threw the Apple of Discord into the wedding of Peleus and Thetis, bearing the inscription "for the fairest," Hera was one of the candidates to claim it. Paris, prince of Troy, was chosen to judge between the three most beautiful goddesses, Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite. Hera offered Paris a reward if he chose her as the fairest, willing to give him rule over Europe and Asia. She lost however, to Aphrodite, because of the bribe the goddess of love had offered Paris (the love of the most beautiful woman in Greece, Helen). Hera engaged along with Athena on the Greek's side in the Trojan War in revenge against Paris for rejecting them. Abilities *Hera has the standard powers of a goddess. *Hera is able to conjure food. *Hera is able to make things clean and orderly like a mother. Attributes *Animal - Peacock *Fruit - Pomegranate *Symbol - Lotus staff Personality Hera seems to be a motherly goddess, likely because she is the goddess of women, marriage, and children. She is, however, very proud and jealous when provoked, insulted or shown unfaithfulness. When cross, even Zeus can be afraid of his wife. According to Hephaestus, she only likes "perfect families," and her throwing him off of Olympus has made him very, very bitter towards his mother. Hera carries great loathing for the illegitimate children and mistresses of Zeus, though for good reason. She is seen as often aware of Zeus' various affairs, many times thwarting them and tricking him into getting what she wants. Though perhaps her anger should be more keyed toward her husband, Hera seems to gain revenge by punishing the women involved as well as the children that result from his affairs. As goddess of marriage, Hera is "used to perseverance," and is always reconciled with Zeus despite his frequent infidelity. She also admits that she secretly envies the demigod children of the other gods, claiming that they help them connect with the mortal world in ways she can't. She will never have any of her own, however, because as goddess of marriage it is "not in her nature to be faithless." It is this part of her, though, that allows her to be merciful where the other gods cannot. Romance Although she is a matron goddess, Hera is known to regain her virginity every year by a sacred bath so she can celebrate her hierogamy (sacred marriage) to Zeus. She is one of the most beautiful goddesses on Olympus and was often desired by others. Despite his many infidelities, Zeus was very jealous and punished anyone who dared to approach her, such Kings Ixion of Thessaly and Porphyrion of the Giants.